Alassa’Christilai
by Makura Koneko
Summary: A Christmas Interlude to 'Will of the Ring.' You don't need to read that to enjoy this. Serena introduces Christmas to the Elves of Mirkwood, but an accident in the woods reminds her of the many Christmas gifts she's received through both her lives...


**The Will of the Ring:**

**A Christmas Interlude**

**Note:** This interlude goes parallel to the current happenings in Will of the Ring: Chapter Fourteen. It ignores the existence of the banquet ball Legolas told them they were going to attend. It also ignores the time limit on when they had to get Serena home. Enjoy! –Makura

**_P.S._** Did you guys really think I was going to leave you hanging with NOTHING till after Christmas???? HA! I'm not THAT mean!!! Now again I say, enjoy! **_–Makura_**

**Will of the Ring:**

A Christmas Interlude

**_Alassa'Christilai_**

Serena was awoken from her nap –one of the many she had indulged in since their arrival at Mirkwood Palace- to the sweetest sound she had heard in a while. Bells. She heard bells. Not the heavy gonging of church bells, but the sweet tinkling of many hundreds of Christmas bells, the kind she heard at the Christmas parade held every year in Juuban, the one where the bystanders received tiny bells handed out by people that preceded the parade. Serena always took two, one for each hand, and jingled and rang them out along with several thousand other bystanders.

It was one of Serena's most fond memories…

With a jolt as she sat up in bed, she, surprised at the notion, counted the approximate days since her arrival in Middle-Earth till that moment…

With a tearful sigh she realized that, were she still back on Earth, it would be near Christmas… The day before Christmas Eve, in fact… Serena lay back in bed, curling up, and sniffed, blinking back tears.

But curiosity soon won her over, and she slipped out of bed and padded softly to the window.  Sure enough, across the huge courtyard was a small procession following what could only be a bride and groom. They all carried small bells, which they rang in perfect harmony, creating gentle music. Serena sighed.

"A Christmas wedding…how romantic…"

"Weddings do tend to be romantic, yes, but I am curious as to how this 'Christmas' you refer to can make it more so."

Halfway through that statement, Serena jumped and whirled, tripped over her own feet in the process, and landed square in Legolas's arms. Blushing, but grinning nonetheless, she rightened herself and stood on her own two feet, but stayed in the circle of his arms.

Then his words registered as she looked up into his smiling face. Her jaw dropped.

"You don't know what _Christmas_ is???" She shrieked. Legolas's grin turned amused.

"I'm afraid not," he said. "Care to explain?" He teased. Serena frowned, purpose in her eyes.

"I'll do better than that," she said. She grabbed his hand and marched past him, pulling him along, to the door. She came up short as he stopped suddenly, forcing her to halt as well. She looked at him. "What?" She asked. Legolas laughed slightly, and raised an eyebrow at her attire. Serena looked down at her attire and blushed; she was clad only in a simple white nightgown.

"Oh, phooey," she grumbled, and shoved her 'boyfriend' into a corner. "Turn around and no peeking!" Serena didn't notice the slight edges of a pale pink color the elven prince's cheeks as he did so. She shimmied out of the nightgown, leaving it on the floor, and grabbed a milky white gold gown trimmed with rose pink embroidery that hung over a chair and slipped it on. She ran a brush through her hair that was unbound and hung completely free down her back to her ankles. She frowned at the ends; she needed a trim. Oh well, take care of that later.

She shoved her feet into a pair of dark red satin slippers and then dashed to the corner to grab Legolas's hand and then to the door, yank it open, and run out, heading to the door across from hers and down the hall a little. She knocked on it loudly.

Raye opened it sharply, clearly annoyed.

"What do you want, meatball head?" She asked, but not without some affection in her voice.

"We have a mission," Serena said seriously. Raye blinked.

"Huh?" Was all she was able to say after a moment of silence. Sighing, Serena just reached into the room, grabbed Raye's wrist, and yanked her out after her. Raye recovered enough of her wits to kick the door shut behind her.

It was the same scene with all the other Senshi, until they all finally ended up in Ami's room.

"He," Serena said when they were all standing around, pointing at Legolas. "Doesn't know what Christmas is!!!!"

"I would if someone would explain it," Legolas pointed out.

"Christmas is –supposedly- the celebration of the birth of what some consider to be the Savior of humanity, Jesus Christ," Ami said. "He was born to a virgin by divine power, and then in atonement for the blackness of our human nature, died the most painful death known to man in the era of his life. A trade, you could say. His life for ours. Except, because He was literally the Son of God, He defeated death and Satan and came back to life. Rather cliché and story-esq, but when you study the religion deeper, it has an eerie ring of truth to it all. I say 'supposed'  because it is speculated that His birth probably took place in the summer, not in December. But it is the thought that counts, I suppose."

"And what does one normally do on this occasion?" Legolas asked.

"You give presents to the ones you love, family and friends," Serena explained this one with a grin. "And you have parties and decorate a big tree and have a special dinner or feast, and sing Christmas Carols…"

"That is the traditional Christmas," Rei said. "There are other versions, such as Hanukah, the Jewish equivalent of Christmas. That's not to say the two holidays are the same, mind you, just that they happen take place around the same time. Another winter celebration is Kwanza."

"This time of year sounds like quite an important time to humans in your time," Legolas commented with mild amusement. Serena's grin widened. 

"It is!" She said enthusiastically. "It is a big deal! Then she frowned. "Which is why I can't  belief you didn't know about it!"

"That's not that much of a surprise, Serena," Ami said with a small, amused smile. "This is a completely different time. And the Birth of Christ won't happen for another several hundred thousand years, probably, if my calculations are correct."

"Oh, I know," Serena said, waving her hands. "But…come on… It's _Christmas_!!! It's, like, a national crime to not even know what Christmas is!!! We should, like, organize a Christmas party or something!!!"

"That actually sounds fun," Haruka admitted. Hotaru grinned.

"It does!" The younger teen said happily. "We certainly have plenty of trees, and I'm sure it would be easy enough to make ornaments…"

"And I saw a plant that resembles mistletoe on our way here!" Ami said, snapping her fingers with the memory. Serena beamed. Legolas looked caught between amusement and bewilderment.

"Can we use one of your ballrooms or something?" Raye asked the prince.

"Yeah, can we?" Haruka added, the glare in her eyes daring him to say no. Legolas's lips quirked.

"Of course," he said, still slightly puzzled. But the look on Serena's face was worth it.

Immediately she began handing out joyful orders.

"Ami, you see about getting ahold of some paper and colored ink and stuff for banners and paper and games and writing out invites and such. Legolas, would you go with her, and you two go talk to Mr. Tharanduil about using a ballroom?" Legolas's lips quirked, and both he and the blue haired girl nodded and set off.

"Haruka, would you and Raye got find a tree?" Serena turned to the aforementioned twosome. They exchanged amused glances, then pushed away from the wall they'd both been leaning against.

"Will do, 'neko," Haruka ruffled her charge's hair affectionately before she and Raye headed for the door.

"Oh! Try getting Aragorn to go with you!" Serena called after them. "Or maybe Boromir, he could-"

"We'll ask Aragorn," Raye said sharply, then shoved Haruka out the door before anyone could see her pink-flushed cheeks. Hotaru and Serena, the only ones left in the room, exchanged looks and collapsed into giggles.

"Guess that leaves us to go find the holly and berries and pinecones and stuff for the Christmas tree decorations!" Serena said when they had recovered. Hotaru, still laughing to the point where she was unable to speak, only nodded and stumbled out the door to her room to change into warmer clothing. Serena followed suit, and a few moments later they me out in the hall, all wrapped up. On their way down to the courtyard, they stopped by the kitchen to collect two pairs of shears to use to cut what they needed, as well as two large baskets the cook lent them with a smile.

Hotaru and Serena bid a hasty, excited, giggling greeting, then an even gigglier farewell to the hobbits in the corner who were arguing about which was the best brand of mushrooms –at the same time they were eating their topic. Mouths full, they spared a moment from their heated conversation to wave to the girls. 

The girls laughed as they left, trudging through the icy mud towards the woods. Serena had a merry time, talking the entire time about how much fun it would be, what they could do with what they had –half-full baskets of holly berries and leaves and pine cones and nuts and some sort of christmasy-smelling herb- and how they could even organize a small skit of the Nativity! And maybe she could even talk Gimli into dressing up as Santa Clause, if they could find some red pants and shirt and tunic… Gimli had the big belt…

Hotaru didn't say much, content to listen to her friends' rambles. Besides, she doubted she could have said much even if she'd wanted to; Serena was talking so fast as that she wouldn't have been able to get a word in edgewise. That is, she wouldn't have been if she hadn't been laughing so hard as to try!

Serena was debating, mostly to herself –with some input from Hotaru- whether or not Ami would make a Santa's hat for Gimli if Serena asked her and could find the material-

Neither saw it until Serena let out an ear piercing shriek and the earth collapsed around the Lunarian Princess, engulfing her in dirt and mud and ice and forest-floor. 

"**_Serenity!_**" Was the cry that was torn from Hotaru's throat as the young woman leaped forward, swayed, skipped back from the growing circumference of collapsing ground. She dropped her basket, and it fell down into the hole along with bushes, trees, rocks…

At last the forest was silent. Hotaru succumbed to a coughing fit, sinking down against a tree as tears streamed down her cheeks, clearing paths through the dust that had settled on her face.

"S-Serena!" Hotaru choked out as loud as she could as soon as she was able. As the dust settled, Hotaru stumbled towards the edge. The gaping hole was huge, as big as a small house. And down in the very center, sprawled out, half covered with dirt and debris, was the form of a slender woman clad in what had formerly been pristine white furs and silks.

"**_Serena_**!" Hotaru called at the top of her lungs, panic in her voice, and ended up choking for it. "Princess!" Hotaru called desperately. "Serena, answer me, please!" She stared down at the prone form. The hole had to be at least twenty feet deep.

Serena's hand moved.

She was alive! Hotaru rejoiced.

"Serena! Serena, if you can hear me, move your hand to the right, then to the left, then to the right again!"

The hand followed the directed pattern, and Hotaru's heart soared.

"Princess, I'm going to go get help! I'm going to go get Legolas and the girls! Stay here!" 

_As if she could go anywhere,_ Hotaru thought to herself as she turned, threw one last glance over her shoulder to the silent figure down in the hole, then turned again and fled back towards the palace.

What had caused such a collapse? That was the thought foremost on her mind as she raced back towards where the others were. Hotaru's first instinct was sabotage -something she had gotten from Haruka, no doubt. But she had seen deliberate holes set up to get people to fall in –albiet never one as large as this- but still it was the same idea, and it didn't look like it had been deliberate. Plus, who could have dug such a big hole with none of the elves knowing?

Unless they did know…

Something was up, something Hotaru didn't want to think about till she got to the others.

And so she just kept running.

Serena was hardly even able to twitch when she felt the ground –or what was left of it- beneath her shift. She screamed again –funny how she had the energy to scream so loudly yet could barely move he hand- as the ground beneath her collapsed, and she once again she was falling…

But this time she didn't land on soft, upturned, soft and muddy earth. This time she landed on a stone slab, and it hurt. Oh, it hurt…harsh bruises on top of harsh bruises made Serena whimper in pain. She was positive her leg was broken…or at least severely sprained. Her shoulder and ribcage didn't feel to swell, either…neither did her head…or her feet… Or any part of her, for that matter!

Darkness nipped at the edges of Serena's mind, but she bit back, forcing the darkness to recede with a viciousness she didn't know she possessed. But she was fighting a loosing battle –darkness fed by evil she could fight. But how could she battle her own body? Apparently, the answer was that she couldn't, since she slowly, but steadily, was pulled further and further into the black arms of unwilling unconsciousness…

It seemed like forever, yet at the same time it seemed that she instantly found he way back to the palace, and as luck would have it, Haruka, Raye, Aragorn, and Boromir were in the courtyard, dragging a huge pine tree towards a set of large double doors thrown open. 

They saw her, and dropped the tree.

"S-Serena!" Hotaru gasped, not having realized how taxing that run through the woods had been, how out of breath she was until she slowed down. She collapsed. Aragorn caught her, and she gulped in precious air.

"What? What happened?" Boromir demanded. Haruka had been about to speak the same words herself.

"Pit…big…hole… Serena…fall…" Five words she spoke, between ragged gasps, but they understood. Almost instantly, it seemed, a small army had been gathered, armed with ropes, boards, ladders, shovels, ect., and as an army they moved out towards the place in the woods Hotaru had come from once she had given them general directions to where the hole, and Serena, resided.

With a promise to bring the princess back safely, Aragorn handed the Saturnite Princess to an elven maid who bore her away to the arm kitchens.

Legolas found out second hand what had happened, and once he had, no one dared deliberately cross paths with the Elven Prince. Sword at his side, rope slung over his shoulder, shovel in hand –just in case- he set off in the direction everyone else had gone. 

Not long after setting out, he veered to the north slightly- somehow it seemed more…_right_. How did he know? He just did, and hoped he _was_ right.

_It was odd, this dream. It was Christmastime, or at least, the __Moon__Kingdom__'s version of Christmas. They had no knowledge –and neither did earth- of the Christmas Serena knew- how could they? The entire reason for Christmas –the birth of the Savior, Jesus Christ- wouldn't take place for another several thousand years._

_So, as a younger Serenity stood around a massive silver tree, similar to an fur pine, it was slightly odd knowing about what this holiday would become. Like one knew that the sky is blue and the grass is green. You know it, but you're not always actually thinking about it. This was how Serena was with her knowledge of Christian Christmas carols and the Holy Birth, and Santa Clause and Hanukah and Christmas lights and all those other 'modern' Christmastime things, include the title 'Christmas' itself._

_On the Moon, the equivalent of Christmas was the night of the annual Winter Star, the night, once a year, that a particularly bright star showed up only at winter, steadily growing brighter and brighter until, on Winter Star's Night, it was at its brightest. _

_The royal ballroom was crowded with royals and dignitaries and wealthy merchants. In the city outside, the entire kingdom rejoiced, feasting on food that had been brought out by the palace servants that morning in dishes that magically refilled themselves._

_Serenity examined with delight the huge silver tree in the center of the ball room. It was the Queen's joy; she'd been growing it all her life, until finally she deemed it big enough to be worthy to be the centerpiece for such an occasion. She had overseen and directed the placement of every single ornament, every single light, and had hand picked the hundreds of fairies out of the millions that had volunteered to light the Queen's Tree._

_She was so proud of its size, it's flawless shape, the magical aura…but most of all its color. Silver Furs were rare. Extremely rare, because you couldn't grow them. They happened randomly. And so pure a silver, too…_

_It was a night of magic, of starlight, of gift-giving and receiving, of friendships being renewed and forgiveness given._

_It was also the night that Princess Serenity and her Senshi would play the biggest prank the Moon would ever see…_

_Operation Illusion was ready to deploy, and the girls could barely stand still, so they accepted dance invitations, just so they could move and spend some of their nervous and excited energy. Ami was especially pleased with the illusion, which had been quite a feat, since it would be such a large one…_

_The art of sneaking the illusion-creator into place and installing it had been Minako's job, and she'd carried it out splendidly._

_Distracting her mother and the decorators, whom were being supervised by her mother, had been Serenity's job. It had been easy enough. She'd simply picked at a day old scab on her knee till it bled again, just enough to look convincing but not enough to really hurt all that much, then had burst into her most spectacular wail-fest to date. In this state, she had had burst into the ballroom, wailing. That 'despicably vile boy' had done it again, she had cried. While the servants and decorators and the Queen had tried to decipher what the visiting Calisto Moon prince had done to his ten-thousand year old (mentally and physically ten year old) cousin, the deed had been done, set in place by Minako, with Makoto and Raye watching her back._

_Now, the night of the Winter Star Ball, the five young girls waited, half nervous, half excited, and not all that sure yet if they would confess. To confess would be to earn the heroism stature from all children. To confess would also be to be sentenced to eternal grounding, or worse, double-time training workouts with Luna._

_Still they waited…_

_And danced while they waited._

_And waited…_

_And danced some more…exchanging bright-eyed glances from across the ballroom…_

_…and waited…_

_…and waited…_

_At last! The great bell rang out, and the city roared with applause and cries of delight, as did the girls and the entire ballroom. Eleven more bell-rings. Each ring was succeeded by roars of applause that died down barely in time to hear the next ring._

_The girls eyed the huge silver tree in the center of the room… The Queen's Tree._

_The eighth time, the bell tolled…_

_…ninth…_

_…ten…_

_…eleven…_

_…Twelve!_

_There was a spike of magic just before the illusion erupted, a spike that only the most magically acute people –the Queen, the Senshi, Serenity, and the Senshi-in-Training- could feel._

_Then the Queen's Tree began to sway…and rock…_

_Then, with ever increasing speed, it fell…_

_People screamed and scrambled to get out of the way, glasses were dropped, clothes torn in the rush, bruises acquired, but nothing serious._

_Then it was over. When the dust settled –metamorphically speaking- Serenity and her Senshi-in-Training stared in horror at the silver mess that lay in the center of the room. Shattered glass, spilt fairy dust, cracked crystal…_

_Serenity swallowed, and Ami paled._

_"There must have been some sort of spell holding the tree upright…" Ami realized with a tiny gasp. "The illusion spell and the holding-up-spell must have cancelled each other out…"_

_"You'll have to tell me about this illusion spell, Princess Ami of Mercury," a voice said from behind them. Slowly, pale as sheets and stiff as rods, the five young girls turned to face Queen Selenity, Luna and Artimus flanking her, all three wearing identical frowns._

_"Care to explain yourselves?" Luna hissed like the cat she sometimes transformed herself into._

_"W-we…" Minako stuttered._

_"Yes, Minako of Venus?" Artimus said placidly. Minako swallowed._

_"It was only supposed to turn the tree blue!" Serenity blurted. "And it wasn't even gonna be real! Just an illusion cuz mama kept going on and on about how pretty the color was and it got annoying and-" She cut herself off by snapping her jaw shut at the look on her mother's face._

_"Blue?" Artimus asked._

_"W-with orange polkadots…" Makoto volunteered in a small voice. A sound began to fill the room, emanating from almost everyone present. It took a moment for the girls to register the slightly amused gleam that was beginning to alight in the eyes of the three adults before them. They blinked in surprise…then they slowly began to realize what that sound was…_

_Laughter._

_And, nervously, sheepishly at first, then so hard they could hardly breath, Serenity, Ami, Rei, Makoto, and Minako joined in._

Serena drifted out of the dream…ever so slight into the waking world, just barely enough so that some part of her mind registered shadows above her, and voices shouting her name…

Then it was back into oblivion she was pulled, and she welcomed the healing silence.

_Serenity was bored to tears._

_Another ball, another Winter Star celebration. Honestly, ever since that Queen's Tree prank gone wrong, Serenity could honestly say she'd never had a decently enjoyable Winter Star festival. At least, not when she went to the official royal ball._

_Serenity bit her lip wistfully as she remembered the year she had slipped down to the city. She wished she could do so again…she'd had so much fun! Her Senshi had come with her, originally to just protect her and try to get her to come back to the palace, but they'd ended up being the ones wanting to stay longer and having just as much fun as she! Oh, what fun they'd had…_

_Fun, at least, until the Queen had found out. Ever since then, guards who knew Serenity and her many various disguises very well had been posted around the city. She'd tried to sneak down last year, and hadn't even gotten to the city gates._

_Serenity sighed as she turned down another invite to dance from a man who looked twice her age- okay, so he was probably only half her age –almost everyone here was; thirty thousand was a hard age to beat unless you were Lunarian- but still. The sigh turned frustrated. She wanted out! There wasn't even a tree this year to admire… Heh, there hadn't been one since that year so long ago…_

_Even the Senshi weren't here. They –all four of them- had been called away on some deep-space mission which Serenity had been forbidden from accompanying them on._

_Then an idea struck._

_It would kill two birds with one stone… Remedy her deadly boredom, and she would get to see _**him**_…_

_Decided almost as soon as the thought had occurred to her, Serenity immediately began looking for a way to give the slip to the bodyguard set to stand by her side the entire night in place of her Senshi._

_Azure Cerulean, her name was (the matching first and last name was lost on no one, and many wondered if the commander resented her parents for giving her such an amusingly coordinating name). Short, but still taller than Serenity, with brilliant blue-green eyes rimmed in blue so dark as to look black. Her face was so blank it was almost a scowl. Curvy, and more than one man had approached Serenity with the pretense of inquiring about the Princess's health while staring at the red-golden haired beauty behind the Princess- everyone knew that Princess Serenity's heart was taken –by who, no one knew- so the set their sights to those close to the Princess._

_"Commander Azure," Serenity asked pleasantly._

_"Yes, highness?" Azure's voice was soft, but trained, with a hint of underlying kindness that was never absent. Yet the tone was unmistakable; she was still a bodyguard and devoted –as was pretty much everyone, really- to the Princess._

_"I'm going to go get a drink, did you want one?" Serenity's tone, and words, implied she wished to go on her own, even though the table bearing the drinks were on the other side of the room, and she –being the Princess- could have hailed someone to bring her a drink, even one of the guests._

_A smile tugged at the corners of Azure's musty-rose-red mouth, a smile only Serena detected._

_"You're necklace is crooked," Azure said out of the blue, and reached out to straighten the chain of Serenity's golden locket, the clasp of which was down by the heart shaped pendant. Under the pretense of fixing this, she leaned in close._

_"Have fun, highness," the woman said, a smile in her voice, affection in the title. Pulling back after turning the clasp around, she winked just so barely. Grinning after a brief moment of surprise, Serenity grinned and headed for the punch table…_

_Only to duck out a door behind a potted plant and down a darkened corridor, looping around the palace to the transportation room, stopping by her room on the way to grab a long, thick white cloak edged in silver fur. It took the barest of minutes to enter in her code, set the coordinates, and then step onto the transportation bad and send a mental command to the controls. In a blur of silver and white, she was gone from the Moon._

_The disorientation that always came with being transported so far a distance faded almost immediately, as Serenity was well used to planet-to-planet transportations._

_The slight dizziness that followed was immediately placed with a wide grin as she felt herself engulfed in a pair of strong, warm arms and pulled against a strong chest. She laughed, and returned the embrace; she'd know those arms and chest anywhere, as well as the lips that claimed her own, cutting off her laughter._

_"What are you doing here?" The voice of those lips hissed to her before kissing her again._

_"Merry Winter Starshine to you, too, love," Serenity giggled, kissing the black haired, blue eyed Endymion on the nose. Looking sheepish, the man returned the greeting before pulling her in for another earth-shattering kiss._

_"I have something for you," he said, a little breathlessly when the pulled away. He took her hand and pulled her through the snow-frosted rose garden she had appeared in, knowing he'd be there- he was almost always in that garden. They had met there, had told each other who they were there, he had told her of his ancestors there, had given her the locker there…_

_They came to the center of the garden, and Endymion pulled Serenity in front of him. She gasped. There, growing in the center, was a small Silver Fur._

_"I thought they only grew on the moon…" Serenity breathed. Then she looked closer at the small tree, and she burst out with another joyous gasp again as she dashed forward. "_**Roses**_!" She exclaimed, touching one of the silvery-white blooms that was growing on the tree. She looked up at the prince with wide eyes. "How…? Only the very first Silver Fur had roses! And it was destroyed hundreds of years ago!"_

_"Where you're concerned, there's nothing I can't do," he said with a grin, pulling her into his arms again. "Plus I had a little help from a single seed that has been handed down from generation to generation," he added as she hugged him tight. "It was just luck it was silver. Though I admit I did try to, er, encourage it to-" He didn't get a chance to finish his sentence as Serenity grabbed his face and  pulled him down for a kiss._

_"This is the best Winter Star gift I've ever been given," she told him softly when she pulled away, eyes shining. "Thank you." He touched his forehead to hers, smiling._

_"You're welcome, love," he said. "You're welcome."_

_"Oh, I'll love you forever! You're the only one for me!" She murmured, and snuggled deeper into his arms, oblivious to the sad, distant look on his face, forgetting that he had once told her he sometimes had visions of the future…_

Serena stirred, and she suddenly became aware of the fact that she was warm. She heard the sounds of a fire crackling…she smelled hot chocolate…a warm arm around her… She pried her eyes open. She looked to her right, and discovered that Legolas was beside her, sound asleep. She lay in his arms, she under the blankets, he on top. Apparently he had been trying to keep her warm and had fallen asleep himself.

Sleep…it pulled at her again, and with a slight yawn, she succumbed to its alluring call. She didn't notice when, in his sleep, the elven prince pulled her closer.

_It had been her Christmas present to herself. A date. A symbol of putting __Darien__'s death behind her. Part of her still loved him, and always would, but she had to move on. She had to. For her own sake and for the sake of those she loved around her._

_He was a nice enough guy, Alex, his name had been, and he had understood that while he had been more than just a date, important, he would never come close to anything serious for her. He would be a treasure for someone, she knew. She just hoped that woman would know it._

_Walking home from that date, having turned down an offer of a ride home, she trudged through the snow. With a twist, she remembered when that Ice Queen had attacked…it had been so long ago…_

_No, not all that long ago, actually, only a few years. Was this what it felt like to be old? Feeling like you were a million years old and that things had happened a millennium ago? Funny…things that had happened yesterday seemed so distant, and yet things that had happened a millennium ago, when she had been Princess Serenity, felt like they had happened yesterday. It was because of those dreams, those dreams where she was beginning to remember… They were becoming more frequent, now, more detailed, longer, and she was remembering more and more from them when she awoke._

_Serena hadn't made any plans for this day. She'd made this day for saying goodbye to the man she'd thought she'd be with forever. Funny how Fate loves to twist with people…and their hopes…and dreams…_

_Serena stopped that trail of thought, clamped down on it. She forced a bounce into her step. She was determined to be 'good ole Serena,' even though no one would see her try to be happy. Family away visiting relatives –she had somehow convinced them to let her stay home that year. She had told her friends she needed some alone time that year. Next year, she had promised, next year she would make up for her lack of activity this year by helping them not only plan the Christmas festival, but by throwing the biggest Christmas bash Juuban had ever seen._

_She neared her street, and passed an embracing couple kissing lovingly. She smiled at them. She was getting better, she realized. Last year she would have been stabbed blind with pain at the sight, and at the memory of how __Darien__ had been at her side when the Ice Queen, Kaguya, had attacked. It wasn't quite as painful anymore…maybe she would be able to keep her promise to __Darien__ after all, her promise not to dwell on his death, to love again…_

_With this thought as she moved on, Serena thought maybe she should have agreed to go to that party with her Senshi –even the outers were scheduled to be there!- at the temple… Darien wouldn't want her to shut herself off, not even for a supposed 'healing day' especially not on Christmas._

_Serena reached her house._

_Should she call them? She pondered this as she walked up the steps. She tried to imagine what it would feel like to be such joyous things at a party, with her most beloved friends. Would it hurt? No, she realized with surprise as she entered her dark house, closing the door behind her and kicking off her shoes and slipping out of her jacket._

_No, right now it would actually be…welcome… Maybe she could even get herself to laugh… She felt a smile coming on at the though of having a party with her friends again. An actual smile! How long had it been since she had truly smiled, she wondered, as she made her way to the kitchen.  Joking, laughing, remembering, talking about what a wonderful person __Darien__ could be and at the same time what a jerk he could be…_

_She laughed lightly, sadly, but she laughed nonetheless. And the realization that she could laugh brought tears to her eyes._

_Decided, she picked up the phone, and headed for the living room. In the middle of dialing, she suddenly paused. Something was off…_

**_"SURPRISE!"_**

_Serena dropped the phone and jumped back and was momentarily blinded, so suddenly did the lights turn on in full. When her eyesight cleared, she stared in shock at what lay before her…_

_Ami…_

_Rei…_

_Lita…_

_Mina…_

_The Outers, Haruka, Hotaru, Michiru, Setsuna…_

_Luna, Artimus, her parents, Shingo…_

_Molly, Andrew, Rita, Lizzie, Greg, Chad, Grandpa, Miss Haruna, Melvin, Dr. Himeko and Dr. Kakeru –the scientist and the astronaut that had been involved with the Kagayu adventure- they were all there! A sob was torn from Serena's throat and she rushed forward. She found herself in the middle of the people that loved her. Minako embraced her tightly._

_"Wh-why did you do this?" Serena sobbed, half grateful, half devastated. "Wh-why are you all here? Why are _they_ here?"_

_Crying along with her friend, Mina took Serena by the shoulders and turned her to look at the people gathered._

_"Look at those people, princess," Mina said, on the verge of sobbing herself, not caring who heard or wondered about the title. "_Look_ at them! Each and every person here received a bit of the light and love and happiness and joy that makes up your very soul. Each person here is a better person because of you, because of the love and light you so freely give!" Mina took Serena's face in her hands and turned it to look at her family and friends, even some people she barely knew._

_"They're here, Serenity, to give you back a little of the love you gave them." Mina choked. Rei came over, tears glistening her in her eyes. She hugged her princess._

_"We're here because we love you, our princess, we love and are here for you. Whatever love, whatever hope, whatever light you feel is gone from you and your world, we will give you, we will replace and renew. Do you hear me? We're here for you, Serenity, and we're not leaving. You hear me? **We're not leaving!**"_

_"She's right, koneko," Haruka said with the most affection and admiration and love in her voice anyone besides Michiru had ever heard. "We're not going anywhere."_

_"Baby," Ikuku came forward and took her daughter in her arms. "We know, a lot of us here, we know that there is something about you that most of us will never know. We know you can't tell us, but we do know that you are special. We're all here for you, baby. We'll be your strength. As God gives us strength, we will pass it to you." With this, she pulled out from behind her a small box with a green ribbon around it._

_Still choking on her own sobs, Serena took it, and, blinded by tears, fumbled to open it. Even though she couldn't see through her tears until she blinked them away, she knew what it was the moment it fell into her hands. A crumbled piece of paper, smoothed and neatly folded, then when unfolded revealed a large, bold "30%" in bright red letters._

_It was too much, and Serena sank to the floor in uncontrollable tears as sobs wracked her body. At once, everyone was around her, just as they'd promised… Luna slipped into her arms, and Serena clung to her…they were there, they were all there…_

_And, Serena realized, so was __Darien__. Somehow, someway, he was there. Much to the surprise as all, when Serena calmed, and took her hands away from her face, she was smiling. Beaming with a peaceful joy no one could really understand, she looked out a window up to the moon. Smiling, she looked back down at the crumpled test sheet in her hand, the same one she had thrown over her shoulder to land on __Darien__'s head so long ago…she laughed softly at the memory… She remembered when she had first met him, so long ago on the Moon Kingdom…remembered that present he'd given her,  the silver silver-rose fur…_

_Silence reigned for a moment, before she looked up, smiling at her Senshi._

_"Merry Winter Starshine," she told to them, softly. Then to the rest, "Merry Christmas, everyone. Merry Christmas!"_

Serena opened her eyes to find them wet, yet she was smiling as she fought to sit up. She felt more refreshed than she had in ages…

"Serena?" A voice asked. Serena turned her head to see Legolas in the doorway, concern all over his face. She grinned and jumped out of bed and ran to him. He had barely gotten in the room and shut the door before she barreled into him, hugging the life out of him.

"What's this for?" He asked.

"For saving me, for staying with me, and for being who you are." She said simply as she snuggled into his arms. He enfolded her in his embrace, smiling into her hair as he kissed the top of her head. She tilted her head up to his for a real kiss, and he complied. They stayed thus for a while, kissing softly, lovingly, until a knock on the door jarred them out of their own little world. 

Legolas turned and opened the door to admit, one after the other, the Senshi, who, one by one, embraced their princess until there was just one big Senshi group hug taking place admits laughter and tears.

"Hey!" Serena asked suddenly. "How long have I been sleeping? What's the day?"

Ami grinned. "December 25th," she said. "Both here and if we were to go back to our time a month after we left." Serena grinned.

"So I haven't missed Christmas!" She beamed. "Or rather, Winter Star's Night!"

"Ah, now there's a winter holiday I do recognize!" Legolas laughed. More laughter followed.

"Well, come on!" Hotaru urged. "If you're feeling well enough, get dressed! We still need to set up for the party tonight!"

"She's not going anywhere," Haruka said flatly.

"What?" Hotaru pouted. "I healed her! She's had a whole day to rest!"

"Yeah, c'mon, 'Ruka-chan!" Serena pouted. "I promise I wont lift anything heavy or anything!"

"As if you would even if you were well," Raye snorted, but the tone was affectionate. More laughter, and finally Serena was allowed to go –not that Haruka really had much of a choice. They all filed out of the room, and Serena was left to get dressed. She donned a golden gown trimmed with white fur and silver snowflake embroidery. A fur cap and cloak, and fur-lined boots, and she stepped out of her room to find Legolas standing there.

"Come with me," he said, grinning, taking her hand before she'd said a word.

"Where are we going?" She asked when he led her outside and towards the woods. She was relieved that it was in the opposite direction as that pit. She made a mental note to ask about that later.

It took a while, but at last he seemed to find where he was going. He stopped, the came up behind her and put his hands over her eyes.

"No peeking," he told her, and she heard the smile in his voice. She grinned.

"Not that I have much of a choice," she laughed. They moved forward carefully so she wouldn't trip. At last he seemed satisfied with her position, and took his hands away.

The sight that met her eyes made Serena gasp with more than awe, but also with shock.

"Oh my God…" she breathed.

"You like it?" Legolas asked. He stepped up beside her and took her gloved hand. "You said on Christmas people gave each other gifts to express love and friendship." He waved to the tree in the center of the clearing. "This technically belongs to me. Was a birthday gift from my father. It's been on this land ever since any of us elves can remember. And now I give it to you."

"The first Silver-rose fur…" Serena breathed. It had to be. So far back in time…the ancient magic she sensed deep in its roots… so big…even bigger than the huge Silver Fur Queen Selenity had been so proud of that one year… Serena couldn't help but laugh.

"What?" Legolas asked. Serena grinned. 

"I'll have to tell you a story sometime," was all she said as she turned to him and slipped into his arms. She stood up on her tiptoes and kissed him thoroughly. "This is one of the best Christmas gifts I've ever been given," she told him truthfully. He grinned, and kissed her.

"_Alassa'Christilai_, Serenity," he told he softly, cradling her face in his hands.

"Merry Christmas to you, too, love," she told him, and raised herself up the last inch needed for their lips to meet. She smiled when they pulled away, and said once more, "_Alassa'Christilai_. Merry Christmas."

**_The End._**

Merry Christmas, one and all! Happy New Years, and God Bless!

**Hope Makes the Universe Shine,**

_Makura Koneko_

**_*ALL STANDARD DISCLAIMERS APPLY*_**


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